FanFan Fan(sp?) thankyou! You get TWO cookies!!
LittleMidgett; coool chappies! Too bad about the lack of reviews on ours... (sad face). And i'll write a new chappie as soon as i possibly can.
Hopefully this chappie wont dissapiont anyone...
Michelle
I peeked around the corner, since I was the smallest one of the three of us.
"There's a guy.... uh, or not. He just disappeared down a corridor" I whispered as I stuck my head back in.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go then!" Seth began to step out, but Cody grabbed his arm, hauling him back in.
"Not yet, if we get caught...."
"Shh! Someone's coming this way!" I ducked back behind the corner, watching as Cody mouthed 'bugs'. I sighed, closed my eyes and focused quickly on the moth I'd seen before. I shrunk rapidly. Beside me, I heard and sort of felt the others doing the same. When I was fully moth, I flapped my wings and took off the ground, flying over to the small corner that separated the wall from the ceiling. Seconds later, a fly and a cockroach joined me. Euuchhk!
"… should be finished by the end of next week. I don't know what the captain thinks she's gonna do with it though…" the voices wafted up to us as they stopped at the corner to talk.
"She's going to get into this battle, that's what she's going to do" Came Dustin's voice, leaping straight to Phoebe's defence. The other voice was a female's, and I saw the flash of red hair as she flicked her head to get it out of her eyes.
"That thing? Against a whole army? I don't think so…"
"Look, it's either that or we sit here while good people… from all races… die for us! Beside's it's not against a whole army. The Resistance will be with us, as well as the Animorphs and the shifters. I think even one more ship will do a lot of good in this war"
The woman nodded her head "Yeah, I know. But… what about the… the children? They're…"
"They've done a great deal, and they still will, but no one can possibly fight a ship, even if they can become animals"
(See? That's what we've been saying) I said privately to the two.
"They can still fight-"
"Oh please. They can only fight things on land, and that seems pretty meagre to what a fully powered ship can do"
(If they want someone to show them what we can do…) Seth snarled, but let the threat hang in the air.
"Well, whatever happens Dustin, I hope we can do something… all of us… and make it count" she said.
"We will. All of us. You can be sure of that" he said, then hugged her briefly, before walking off into the corridor we had just been in.
"Won't mom and dad have a cow if they knew?!" The girl yelled to him, and he turned and laughed at her.
"Yeah. Night sis, see ya" he called back, then turned, shoved his hands in his pockets, and walked off. The girl smiled, sighed, shook her head, then turned and continued walking in the corridor she had been. When we were sure they were gone, we dropped back to the floor, and all of us changed back.
"Well, what now?" I asked. The boys exchanged glances.
"Uh, well… let's do what we came here to do, and get the heck out of here" Cody said, then nodded towards the corridor Dustin and his 'sister' had come from. We walked down it, then turned another corner, until we came to one of the science rooms. Seth knocked on it three times, then waited. Seconds later the door slid open and Kay stood there.
(I thought you would not be able to get past the many people here. Come in, quickly, before someone sees you) he ushered us in, then shut and locked the door behind us.
"What did you find out?" I asked.
(I believe I have located where the enemies forces are situated. Here) he went over to what looked like a blue table, and suddenly there was a 3-D holographic version of the planet. There were little blue blobs here and there, a few green, and some red dots in bigger clusters than the other two. The blue and green ones seemed a little more spread out.
(This is a map of the planet. The red dots are… of course… the enemy. The Yeerks) he said the word 'Yeerk' with such distaste I had the feeling he'd had a long past with them (The green are the Andalite forces, the green, Chanaiben and humans. Orange are the Runchak. Apparently they are less committed to war than first thought)
It was only then that I saw the orange dots.
"Think maybe they've had more casualties than the others?" Seth supplied.
(Perhaps. The Runchak are as unpredictable as the rate my hooves grow. Sometimes they have seemed very loyal, other times…) he trailed off, and I understood what he meant. Despite the fact that I didn't have hooves that grew.
"Have the kept track of the Yeerks all this time?" Cody asked, looking closely at the hologram.
(Yes. I can show you the movements of the war for the last two and a half months, if you'd like)
"Show us" I said.
(I have sped the timeframe up, as to view this normally may actually take the…)
"You heard the lady Kay. Show us" Cody said, brushing his dirty blond hair back. His eyes, which were just like his mothers, stared hard at the small grouping of blue that weren't too far from us. They were mixed in with a small amount of green, and I guessed that was the War-Prince and his followers. Hoped it was. They weren't too far from us. A few thousand miles, no more.
(Certainly) in seconds, we saw the whole thing like we were watching a three-minute movie. We saw the red dot land, the other red dots come out of no-where, making their way around the planet. The blue dots came to life, then quite a few green and orange (I'd been right about the Runchak) but all seemed to take heavy losses. The orange dots diminished quite quickly. But what I really noticed, was the fact that each time an orange dot vanished, there would always be that one red dot there. The first red dot on the land. Had to be the Blade ship! Had to!
By the time it ended, all the dots were back in the places they'd started, and the lot of blue and green were still pretty close to us. A part of me wanted to just go to those dots and find out if mom and dad were all right, and the others… but, I knew I couldn't. Instead, I focused on the red dot, surrounded by a few others.
(Phoebe has informed me that within the next two weeks the Blade ship will be here) Kay pointed to another lake, surrounded by the biggest trees I'd ever seen. The only trees untouched by the war, I saw.
"Another Yeerk pool?" Seth asked, tilting his head to the side a little.
(Perhaps. But it also seems to be on neutral ground. Also, it seems to be slightly on a hill, so this may provide a tactical advantage for them if they do take that part over)
"Uh… how? Their ships…"
(If they set up their forces here, on neutral ground, they will be able to attack from an angle the resistance might never expect. They may also be able to protect the pool, and keep it hidden)
"Not to mention that if they put even one Yeerk pool on this planet, their foot will be in the door and it's all over" Cody said, and I could tell he was thinking hard.
"The minute that ship is repaired, come get us" Seth said.
(I can assure you, I will)
-----------------------------------x------------------------------
As you've already figured out by now, I hated waiting. And those next four days nearly killed me.
We'd been moved back to the underground home. Since they needed all the space they could get. The crab-thing, and in fact a lot of funny-looking machines like it, had started scouring a big area, trying to find whatever scraps of things they could use. Phoebe had told us to wait until she knew for sure what we could do. They already had a few people protecting the lake where we had been. Apparently that ship the fighter destroyed was still there, and they were using it to their advantage.
But, of course, Nicole wouldn't stand for it. None of us would now. There was just too much at stake now, and we knew we couldn't let that Blade ship take over that lake. Or, in fact, get anywhere near it. The second that Andalite cruiser thingy was fixed, we were off. We'd take it, and save the day.
Or so Megan kept telling me night after night. After a while, I sort of believed her.
Nicole distanced herself from us, and Toni actually ended up taking one of the spare rooms. After a lot of 'duh's, we kind of spread ourselves out a bit. Megan and I still shared a room, and so did Sean and Seth, but everyone else had their own rooms. Even Elfangor and Aerionna.
When the time came, we were all ready for it. Even Megan, believe it or not. Kay told us the Blade ship had started to move, but was being very subtle about it. It would move, then stop, then move again, then stop again. I kinda got the feeling something was wrong with the ship. Either that or they were just taking their sweet time cause they knew they had it.
So, on a fairly cool night, we took off towards the cruiser. It had been brought over, next to the big bulky ship Karma, and I have to say it didn't look too bad either. The beautiful kind of blue, the shredder arched over the back like an Andalite tail… the fact that I knew it could fly…
We headed towards it, and Nicole whispered for us to morph when we were hidden behind a half-wall, no more than about ten metres from the ship.
"No" Alex said softly, and Nicole snapped her head around to look at him.
"What did you say?"
"I said not yet. We need to figure out how many people are on that thing before we go charging in it, ready to kill"
"Look, if we morph… and shift… now, we might be able to scare away…"
"Nicole, he's right. I know what happened to your dad sucks, and I can't say I don't feel the same thing, but we don't need to go in there looking for blood from people who have done nothing but help us" Elfangor said, and it looked like she was about to pound him one. But she sighed, closed her eyes, and nodded.
"All right. But three people, maximum, can go in there. Michelle, Seth, and Aerionna" She darted an accusing look at Alex "Go small, and don't let anyone think of you other than some animals that wandered aboard the ship, all right?"
"Chanaiben animals, I'm guessing" I said. She nodded.
Immediately, Seth went Chudnit. Aerionna went something simular. A creepy kind of pinkish-orange bird with two sets of wings. Not to mention two heads as well. It was… I don't remember the name of it, but watching an Andalite turn into that is more than a little disturbing.
I however, decided to shift to something I'd seen before. I'd actually made this thing a pet, cause it looked so sad, and it seemed to like companionship. It was a weird mix between a dog and a cat. It had cat claws, but a dogs muzzle, and big sad brown-blue eyes. It had a fluffy little tail that curled around and it looked like a little puff-ball on the back. It was called a Higni. I know, it sounds like someone hiccupping. But it was adorable, and as I crouched there with the others, I knew it was wandering around the underground home, all alone. I hoped my little Higni would be all right…
The blue-streaked green fur sprouted, and I started to shrink. I pictured the eyes, nose, tail… and soon, when I opened my eyes, I saw the world differently. Freaky kind of world. All the colours seemed reversed. Like Toni's hair… it was pure white. And Cody's usual pale face was completely black. Not to mention the red-pink leotard Megan was wearing looked more like a dark and light blue blended together. It was… unusual, to say the least. I was glad I didn't see the world upside down. Brrr, that would've made me dizzy!
"Go on then! Hurry" Nicole hissed, picking me up and putting me down in the right direction. I was about the size of a one month old Pomeranian. I was tiny.
Ahead, I saw Seth enter, chirping his echolocation. I flipped my big bat-like ears forward, then trotted towards the hatch, acting just like the Higni had been. Curious, but not too curious, just in case whatever I was curious I was about was dangerous. I walked up the hatch, having a little trouble because it was so steep, then opposite to where I'd seen Seth go. Behind me, Aerionna followed, until we reached another small corridor. She went off that way without a word, and I continued on, until I reached what looked like an engine room. Lots of things that hummed and looked very important. I decided not to try my look at touching them.
There was one person there, and when she saw me she let out baby coos and picked me up, cuddling me. I let out a small mewl (yeah, they sounded like cats too) and struggled a little. She let me go, but patted me a little more. It felt so good…
(Guys! I'm on the… well, I think it's a bridge… and I'm getting chased! This guy really wants me outta here!)
(I have checked the storage bays, and the few small rooms they have here. There is nobody. Although, the grass in the other room looked good…)
(Later Aerionna! We don't have time for that!) Nicole spat, suddenly making me realise she was in morph (How many people are on that ship?!)
(Michelle?) Aerionna asked.
(Someone in the engine room…)
(Then I have surmised there is a total of seven people on board)
(Yah! All right already! I'm getting out!) Seth yelped, as Nicole said,
(Wait a second, I thought you said there wasn't anyone in the rooms)
(No, but I activated a computer console and found that three are crawling in the small shafts…)
(Hey! That's a live wire!)
(… and two more are in the captains' quarters. It appears they may not leave that place for a while) Aerionna sounded a little embarrassed.
(A broom! Oh of all things! Bah! Not so close…) Seth's yelping cut through all of us.
(Seth, get out of there!)
(But I am out! I'm almost at the door, and he's still chasing me! For the love of… this guy must really hate bats!)
(All right. Lead him out. We'll knock him out when he comes out)
(But not kill) Alex added, and I knew the tension between the two was probably rising with each second we were here.
(All right, if you're doing that… I might as well find a way to lead this woman out there, all right?) I asked.
(Sure. When I give the ok, all right?)
(Yup. No probs) I rubbed myself against the woman's legs, and as she crouched down and patted me some more, I heard the others as Seth finally reached the door.
(I'm out! Yaaaaaah! Hey!)
(Alex, now!)
Seconds later…. (All right, he's down and out. Will be for a while)
(Ready Michelle?)
(Yup) I mewled some, more, then dove towards the door, turning back and mewling again at her.
"What is it? What's wrong little kitty?" she asked, and I had to resist the temptation to yell at her and tell her I wasn't a 'kitty', and instead bolted out the door. It sort of felt like I was strapped to the underside of a race car or something. ZOOM! This little Higni could move!
"Hey wait!"
Whoops! Had to wait for the woman. I slowed down, turned, did something that sounded like a little yip, then took off again, this time at a slower pace. I know she was following. I felt her rushed footsteps under the grass that seemed to carpet a lot of the ship. Well, the engine room didn't have it.
I did the turn-and-yip thing a few times, before I finally reached the door. Then, I bolted.
(Get ready!)
(Now!)
Seconds later, I heard a 'whump!' and something went down. I turned to see Sean, a fully grown lion, had jumped her from the side, then as I watched, hit her across the side of the head. It wasn't hard, but I could tell she'd be out for a bit.
We repeated this process with each of the people, before we finally boarded the ship, with Kay and Aerionna taking the ship up and away from the other ship. They shut the hatch, and both of them worked for a minute, before Kay announced which way we needed to go. Finally, we made our way out of the area, away from the Karma.
Not to mention away from the seer I only knew of as my aunt.